The Secret Assignment Club II
by KeyBella
Summary: Sequel to TSAC. Alexis Fenton is an average teenage girl...except for the fact that her dad is a world renown superhero. As if life weren't fun enough she and the girls come across the game. What happens when everything has changed except the game itself?
1. Prologue

Okay guys, here it is! This is the official prologue to the sequel.

For those of you who were worried about the original girls not being around, I've got a surprise for you all later on. Speaking of surprises, I've got another one, but you might not be so happy about this one. It turns out that we've been having trouble with the website, so it might not be up until the first or second chapter. So sorry for that guys!

Enjoy!

Keyarrah

(Sorry guys. This is the revised version of this chapter. For some reason the breaks in the chapter didn't appear. All fixed now!)

* * *

The story that I am about to tell you is in fact, a very weird one. Some say that our births were simply coincidental. Some say that our mothers planned our births. (I know for a fact that they didn't, though). Others say that we are miracles. What do I think? I think that we were born to continue what our mothers, and those before them started all those years before…

It all started on April 15th 2018, when my aunt Raven had an announcement to make.

* * *

_Raven sat nervously on one of the couches of her and her husband Mark's new apartment. Mrs. Raven Parker faced six of the best friends that she'd ever had with an announcement that she knew would knock half of them over. She took a quick glance around the apartment as she gathered up her words. The apartment wasn't much of anything to fawn over, but it was good enough for she and Mark while she was still working as a secretary for a local California music producer. _

_"…I'm pregnant." She finally spit out. _

_Jazz shrieked and attacked her in an almost flying hug. Sam, who sat on the other side of where Jazz was sitting, smiled excitedly, yet tiredly._

_Raven could understand why she was a little drained though; on her lap sat two little children, Lindsay, who was four going on five, and little Ryan, who had just turned two._

_"Rae, that's awesome!" Emma laughed, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. She couldn't help feel a twinge of jealousy though. She and her husband Charlie had been trying to have a baby for almost a year. _

_Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Ashley was playing with her young daughter, Sarai, who was two. Sarai was a bit cranky and was currently pulling on her mother's newly magenta dyed hair. _

_"Ouch. Sarai!" She lightly smacked her daughter's hands away from her head before turning to her friend. "Raven, I'm happy for you. Just be prepared to deal with this." She gestured to her daughter who was making a mad grab for a lock of her hair. _

_Little Ethan, Jazz's son, pulled on his mother's pant leg. He was definitely not a huge fan of being ignored. The five-year-old gave up though, and went back to playing with his trucks. _

_His cousin, Ryan squeezed a pudgy little hand out to him, as if to indicate that he wanted the truck. Ethan threw him a dirty look before blatantly turning the other way. He hated sharing with Ryan. All he ever did was throw his toys and break them. Jazz took the truck without a second thought and handed it to Ryan with a reprimanding glance at her son. Ethan's only response was a sulky pout._

_Annica laughed at the children before turning and smiling at Raven. "So, did you tell Mark yet?" she asked. _

_Raven nodded. "He's ecstatic. Ran all over the place. I think he's out right now getting paint for our non-existent nursery." Everyone laughed. _

_"How many months along are you?" Roxie asked, observing Lindsay, who looked half-asleep. The little girl nodded out on her mother's lap. _

_"Not long. I should be due in about January." Raven explained. _

_"Well…I guess that means no more alcohol for you!" Jazz teased. The other six laughed quietly, as not to disturb the sleeping girl. _

* * *

Life went on as usual until my Aunt Emma realized on June 30th, 2018, that she had an announcement of her own.

* * *

_"Guys…" Emily 'Emma' McKinley called out from the bathroom. _

_She knew it was stupid to be trying this. Besides that, she had a fitting for her first couture shoot in less than an hour. If she went there with disappointment written all over her face, it would ruin everything. If this turned out to be false she swore she'd just die. _

_"Would you hurry it up? I've had to pee like something else for the last six minutes!" Sam called back crabbily. _

_"Oh shut up, Sam. Drink less water. Yes, Em?" Annica called back._

_Emma took a deep breath. _

_"…What does it mean when it's blue?" Emma asked. _

_She was met with silence. _

_"…Em…" Raven was the first to speak. "…Wanna have a double baby shower?" _

_Emma ran out of the bathroom, clutching onto the doorframe with one hand while wearing a bewildered look on her face. "No way…" _

_Sam threw the box at her. "Yes way! Now move, I've got to pee!"_

* * *

So of course, it was a bit of a surprise (or maybe not), when exactly three days later, my mother, Sam, had news on July 3rd, 2018.

* * *

_"What will you have to order, ladies?" the waiter asked the six who were sitting at the table. They were all waiting on Sam. _

_"Uhm, can you give us a minute, our friend is—"_

_"Right there." Ashley nodded at her older sister who was walking in just then. Emma and Jazz waved her over and she sat next to Annica. _

_"We're ordering, Sam. I'll have a lemon water, and dry toast, butter and jelly on the side." Raven ordered. _

_"Same for me." Emma nodded. _

_"Coffee—black, no sugar. And a bran muffin." Roxie ordered. Jazz made a face. _

_"Ew, Rox. I'll have a diet coke, and a regular muffin, thanks." Jazz looked over to Ashley. _

_"Sprite, and an onion bagel with butter, please." Ashley replied. The waitress wrote it down and looked to Annica. _

_"Tea with cream and sugar, and the Belgian pancakes." Annica cleared her throat. They all turned to Sam who looked up from the menu. _

_"Uhm…I'll have the French toast, and a lemon water also." The waiter nodded, wrote it down, and walked away. _

_"What, no coffee?" Ashley questioned. Sam shook her head quietly._

_"So, we still doing Fourth of July at my house?" Roxie asked them._

_Everyone gave different indications of agreement. _

_"Okay, so, Annica, you're bringing the decorations, right?" Emma asked. _

_Annica shook her head. "Nooo…you're bringing the decorations," she moved her elbow as the waiter came back with the drinks. "I'm getting the fireworks." _

_Ashley disagreed while sipping her Sprite. "Nuh-uh, missy. I'm getting the fireworks." _

_"Can't you guys be organized for once?" Jazz stirred her coke around. "If you're getting the fireworks, then who's getting the alcoholic beverages?" _

_Emma snickered. "So concerned, Jazz. And you were just a little too sad for Raven, too. What, you started heavy drinking?"_

_Jazz rolled her eyes. "No, but I want to make sure that someone responsible is getting it if the guys insist on having it. We really don't want something to happen like last year." Ashley huffed at the pointed look that she received._

_"Okay, Fen—…Baxter." she corrected herself. "I leave a half empty cup of Smirnoff near your kid ONCE. Is it MY fault he streaked through your neighbor's yard in a Danny Phantom cape? Maybe so. But it was ONCE and I highly doubt that Ethan's developed a drinking habit at the age of five." Ashley defended._

_"Why are there even Danny capes? Danny doesn't wear capes." Annica pointed out._

_Roxie scoffed. "Anyway, no, Ashley's not getting the alcoholic beverages for obvious reasons. The older, more responsible maiden-named Manson is getting it, right Sam?"_

_They all turned to Sam. _

_"Actually…I was wondering if I could bring the decorations." Everyone dropped their straws and spoons. Jazz stared at her suspiciously. _

_"Excessive peeing, no coffee, and no alcohol. You're pregnant, aren't you?" she accused with a smirk._

_Sam tried to fight off a smile. _

_"You are! You baby-popping trollop!" Emma cried, earning a glare from an elderly woman behind them. _

_"Yeah, I am." Sam admitted, her cheeks reddening. _

_"Another one…Wow. Is that all you people do all day—sit around and procreate? So anyway," Roxie continued as the waiter came their way with the food. _

_"Boozy wants liquor, so who's gonna get it?" she jerked a thumb towards Jazz. _

_"I am not an alcoholic, you tartlet!" The elderly woman got up and left as she gave them all glowering looks, earning snickers from everyone but Jazz who slunk down in the booth with an embarrassed smile. _

* * *

But on September 15th, 2018, when my aunt Jazz's secret was revealed, it got a little weird.

* * *

_"Ethan, don't touch that! Damnit, I swear if you open that cabinet again I'm going to put you up for adoption! There are no cookies in there!" Jazz screamed for what seemed like the billionth time._

_"Jeez. Monthly PMS, much?" Raven questioned, picking Ethan up. _

_"More like permanently." Annica muttered. _

_"More like child abuse." Sam corrected her. _

_"Go to hell." Jazz muttered bitterly. _

_"Oy! Dash, you put up with this all day?" Emma called to him from the kitchen where she had, in spite of what Jazz had been screaming, found cookies for her godson. She had a somewhat noticeable bump, as did Raven and Sam. _

_"Only because she's pregnant!" he called back from the living room over the roar of ESPN. Jazz immediately felt six sets of eyes glued to her. _

_"Sniff this…" Ashley shoved her Starbucks cup at Jazz who turned her head in disgust. They all knew for a fact that when Jazz was pregnant with Ethan that she couldn't stomach the smell of it. _

_As if on cue, Jazz nodded her head to answer their silent question. _

_"Seriously, will one of you four get a HOBBY?" Roxie cried out._

_"I don't know how you can take two kids," Ashley sighed, sipping her coffee. "Or three." She nodded at her sister. _

* * *

Was it karma? That's what my mom said. On October 5th, 2018, my aunt Ashley was the fifth to join the club.

* * *

_"There's no way. I told Dr. Sheffield that there was NO WAY." Ashley growled into the phone. _

_"Is this normal?" Emma wondered into the receiver. "Maybe it's like one of those things that happens with periods. You know, how best friends have periods at about the same time?" _

_"Oh yes," Jazz scoffed. "Because my husband had nothing to do with it. I caught my baby from Sam." _

_"My baby's not contagious."_ Sam huffed, mock-affronted.

_"This is sickening." Roxie drawled._

_"You do realize that you and Annica are next, don't you?" Sam asked. Raven voiced her agreement. _

_"Nuh-uh. Shawn and I are infertile. I have accepted and embraced it. If I want a baby, I'll get one. When I want one." She added. _

_"Where, off the Home Shopping Network? I can hear you now. 'Oh yes, my name is Britannica Hartfield. I'd like to order a baby. …Do you have any in 'East Asian'? We've had our eye on one of those'." Roxie laughed. _

_The others laughed too._

* * *

But no one was laughing four days after Christmas, December 29th, 2018, when Aunt Annica unwrapped her last present from Santa.

* * *

_"…You cursed her." Roxie pointed at Sam. _

_"What?!?" Sam cried, putting a hand on her stomach in defense. _

_"You cursed her!" Roxie repeated as they all stared at the six pregnancy tests lying in a straight row. _

_"I'm infertile. This is impossible…Should I take another one?" Annica groaned, lying against the tree. _

_"I don't think you have enough fluid left in you. Face it. You're knocked up." Ashley replied, eating part of the roof off of the gingerbread house sitting next to her. _

_"HEY!" Lindsay cried out, snatching her house from her aunt. _

_"Learn to share." Ashley called after her as she stomped to her room. _

_"Stop bullying my kid." Danny Fenton stretched tiredly and scratched at his exposed and well-toned abdomen as he walked down the stairs. He kissed Sam lightly, rubbed her stomach, and headed towards the kitchen. _

_"And you wonder why you're on your third kid." Roxie said to Sam who stuck her tongue out childishly._

_"Well, Roxie. You're next." Raven leaned her head on Emma's shoulder. _

_"No. There's no way. I'll stay celibate for the rest of my marriage if I have to. I am NEVER going to be sucked into this freakish thing you six have going on." _

* * *

My aunt Roxie of all people should have known never to say 'never'. On March 17th, 2018, it was official. Something strange was going on.

* * *

_"I hate all six of you." Roxie announced as Emma opened the door to her house. Emma burst out laughing. _

_"Raven started all of this!" she laughed. _

_"Oh my freaking freak…by this time next year, there's going to be seven little…us-es running around the place." Ashley sighed. _

_"And to think. Ten years ago, the only thing the seven of us had to worry about was stealing underwear and taking pictures." Raven laughed. _

_They all looked at each other in an eerie silence. _

_"…Impossible." Jazz cut them all out of their thoughts. "A game, a stupid game we played in high school, is not the reason for all of this." _

_"It was ten years ago, Jazz. Literally, a decade ago. That stands for something." Annica said. _

_"So? What does 'The Secret Assignment Club' or the game have to do with us having our kids at about the same time?" Emma asked. _

_"…Everything. Think about it. What was the one thing that would have made the game so much better for us?" Sam asked. Everyone shrugged._

_"If we were all in the same grade and if we were all the same age. You all remember how upset we were when we split up one by one because of graduation." Sam answered. _

_"No! No way! There is no way that some game we played, I repeat, TEN YEARS AGO, has anything to do with this. There is a logical explanation to this. Maybe…maybe there's something in the god-forsaken WATER SUPPLY! I don't know. But for this," she gestured to all of their abdomens. "to have to do with 'The Secret Assignment Game', or more importantly, 'The Assignment Club', is ridiculous!" Jazz cried. _

_"When did your sister find out about the game?" Ashley asked Annica, basically ignoring Jazz's argument of logic._

_"In…1988, I think." Annica answered. "Then, when she was old enough, she played it in…1998…" They all looked at each other. _

_"NO." Jazz refused. _

_"When did we learn the game?" Emma asked. _

_"2008. Right after Christmas break." Annica answered. Jazz shook her head. _

_"Guys, are the pregnancy hormones going to your brains?!? NO. Yes, I'll admit that it'll be a blessing and then some that our kids will be able to hang out, and be friends, and hopefully not do HALF of the things we did growing up, but to say that this all came from a game? A game?" Jazz shook her head again. "No." _

_"How old will our kids be in about…2028?" Raven asked. _

_"About ten." Sam answered. "Definitely not old enough to know about a 'secret' anything." _

_"Hmm. How old will Lindsay be?" Roxie asked. Sam shrugged. _

_"About fourteen. Why?" Sam questioned. _

_"See!" Jazz cut in. "It just doesn't add up. Okay, if our kids were going to be in their late teens in ten years, then yes. I would start to wonder about it all. But see, it's just coincidence. Our kids won't be old enough to know about anything we even thought about doing at Casper until at the least_ some time in the 2030's.._.Maybe 2033-34. And-" _

_Annica held up her hand and interrupted her. "That's it. Hold on, let me check." _

_She whipped out her cellphone and speed-dialed someone. "Uh-huh…yeah. Hey Jackie. Do you remember when 'The Secret Assignment Game' was first invented? ...Uh-huh. Oh…really? Okay, hold on, I'm gonna put you on speakerphone. Say it again." _

_Annica pushed a button and all was silent. _

_"I said, 1934." Jackie's voice rang from the phone._

_They all looked around at each other and Jazz's eyes were wide with realization. _

_"We're not talking about ten years," Annica said, as she hung up the phone and wrapped her arms around her growing stomach. "I think we're talking about a hundred of them." _

_Roxie gave a sigh. "So should we not even hope for boys?"_

_Emma gave a dry laugh and put a pillow over her face._

* * *

As predicted, we were all born in the same year…and we were all girls.

* * *

The story that I am about to tell you is in fact, a very weird one. Some say that our births were simply coincidental. Some say that our mothers planned our births. (I know for a fact that they didn't, though). Others say that we are miracles. What do I think? I think that we were born to continue what our mothers, and those before them started all those years before…

I think that the game was _magical_.

I think that we were born to carry this legacy throughout our lives…that we are supposed to teach this game to our children, and they will teach it to their children, and so on.

The game has this crazy way of not only causing trouble, but also getting you out of it. It has this magic touch that brings some closer together, drives some apart, but either way makes you glad that it did.

This is the story of Alexis Fenton, Bridget-Victoria McKinley, Leslie Baxter, Anya Hartfield, Skylar Manson-Bryant, Leanna Foley, and Jolene Parker.

This is the story of The Secret Assignment Club II.

* * *

There's the beginning guys. Next chapter, you get to meet Alexis and the other girls.


	2. Just Another Sunday Nightmare

Hey all, sorry for such a long wait for the second chapter, but just like I promised, here are the new TSAC girls! For more glimpses of what is to come in TSAC II, check out the previews in the later chapters of TSAC.

I hope you enjoy it,

Keyarrah

* * *

You see that girl…the one with the long black hair? …No. Not the one going at it with her tongue down that blonde dude's throat in that back corner aisle. Go up a little more…next row…next row…up…no…too far…go right…now turn. There. Yes, the one picking at the nail of her middle finger with her thumb, with that bored expression on her face. That's me.

Okay, now look to my right. You see that other black-haired girl…the one with her hair put up in a series of complicated twists and knots? That's Satan…more formally known as my older sister, Lindsay.

On my left, that guy that I know for a fact that more than half of you are swooning over (for some disgustingly opaque reason) is my older brother, Ryan.

Next, I'd like you to look beside him. There's a woman with long black hair and amethyst eyes? Yeah, that's our mom, Samantha Fenton. Now finally, look at the stage.

That man up there, laughing as he leans with his arms on the podium? That's our dad, Daniel Fenton.

Now, in case you've been living under a rock for the last two decades or so, you know who the Fentons are…or maybe you're one of those stupid people who think you know the Fentons because you just read about us in the latest magazine. If you are neither, prepare to find out everything you did…and maybe did **not** want to know about the Fentons.

I listened (or at least tried to) as Dad gave his annual speech. I crossed my legs, and sighed, staring at Dad as he spoke to the people around me. Dad sucks at formal speeches, so much so that he has even admitted this himself. This is why he usually tries to lighten them up a bit, hence the patriarch of the Fenton fam. currently leaning against the podium. I uncrossed my legs and beside me, Lindsay stiffened.

"—_and in the last twenty-six years since the fateful ghost attack by Vlad Masters on Casper High Boarding School I am proud to say that we have taken even more steps in the unity between—…" _

I shifted my butt over to the right and crossed my ankles before I became uncomfortable. I then shifted to the left and attempted to cross my legs again. Of course, I should have remembered that this did not work _before_, but I did not, so of course I ended up uncrossing my legs and slumping down a bit. Just as I was about to shift a little more to the right…or maybe it was the left, Lindsay pinched me.

"Ow." I hissed angrily.

"Stop fidgeting. You look like a hyperactive four-year-old with hemorrhoids." She hissed back evenly, through barely moving lips.

I glared. Lindsella DeVil had no control over these glutes, baby. I shifted over again just to spite her, and when she pinched me again I kicked her as hard as I could.

"Mom said to stop it." Ryan muttered.

"Tell Mom that it's not **me**." I muttered back.

"…_today, as any other day is a brand new day. I speak on behalf of myself, and my family and friends when I say that the advancements that have been made are beyond…"_

I scratched at my ankle with the other foot and Lindsay gave me a sharp pinch…again! I made sure to jam the heel of the stupid shoes I was forced to wear into her fat calves…okay, they weren't really fat, but for the sake of my anger, L.D. was given fat man calves.

"Mom said she doesn't care who it is. Stop." Ryan muttered to me for the second time.

I had a feeling that Mom was watching us, but I didn't dare look and see. This was not my fault. I was the victim! The victim!

"I can't stop it, if it's not me." I muttered right back at him.

"…_Thank you."_ Dad's speech ended and there was a lot of applause.

I clapped also, as did my two siblings and my mother. God…it was finally over. I could go with the girls, we would have a slumber party, emphasis on the 'par-tay', and all would be right with the world…or so I thought before I saw who was approaching the podium.

Governor Narosa stood up and shook Dad's hand before standing beside him with an arm around his shoulder.

"_That was wonderful, Danny, as always. I have to say that I've always enjoyed your company, especially at moments like these when we really get to remember what a great society we've built in the last two decades. It really…"_

Oh joy…I'd be here for at least six more hours, plus the three we'd already been here, unless the governor sped it up a bit. I shifted away from my stupid sister, hoping to evade her and her sharp puncturing nails only to get pinched in the side.

"Stop pinching me, Lindsay." I warned lowly.

"Stop moving around, I told you. People are watching." She countered.

"And what they see is me being abused by _you_." I grumbled in annoyance.

"_But honestly, where would Daniel Fenton be without the amazing support of our people, his friends, and of course his family…"_

"Fine? You want perfection, Princess? I'll grant that." I rolled my eyes and imitated her perfect posture and the 'classy air' that she had about herself…only to be pinched **again**.

"You look stupid." She snapped quietly.

"Your face is stupid." I grunted.

"His gorgeous wife, Sam…"

"You are so immature." She scoffed.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, Lindsay. Yes, Lindsay. Everything that you say is right, Lindsay. Every breath you take is like an angel's sigh, Lindsay. No one cares that you're a stuck-up little snob, Lindsay. I hate you, Lindsay.

"His elegant daughter, Lindsay…"

Great. Fuel that ego of hers a bit more, Gov. Because I _really_ need to hear about this later on the way home. I could just see it now. 'Did you hear it when he called me 'elegant', Daddy? Mom, I told you it was a good idea to attend his daughter's cotillion. See? It wasn't really sucking up.' Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. The highlights of my night would be detailing this heinous speech with the girls…who should be around here somewhere…

I turned my head to look only to get the **hardest pinch ever** from…you guessed it.

"Mom is going to kill you…" Ryan informed me before I drowned out his quiet tone.

"Stop pinching me, Lindsay."

"You know what? Two of us can play at this immaturity game. Let's see why you get such a kick out of it."

**Pinch.**

**Pinch.**

**Pinch. Pinch. **

I would not break. I would not snap. I would not throw Lindsella DeVil over the chairs and bang her face in like a beatnik on a bongo. I would not.

"His charming son, Ryan…"

**Pinch. Pinch. **

**Pinch. Pinch. Pinch. **

**Pinch. Pinch. Pinch. Pinch. **

You know that feeling you get right before you erupt? You know it's coming and you know you should stop it, but for some reason you don't?

**Pinch.**

"DAMN IT, LINDSAY! PINCH ME ONE MORE GOD FORSAKEN TIME AND I WILL BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOU!"

"…_Ah, and of course, his darling daughter, Alexis." _

Ahem. Remember the girl you were staring at before? The one with the long black hair? Yeah…well everyone else was currently staring at her too.

…Oh boy.

* * *

"Way to spazz out in front of the general public, cousin." My brunette relative congratulated from beside me, also wearing a fancy dress and uncomfortable shoes.

She was currently stuffing her face with an assortment of hors d'oeuvres. She found one that she didn't like, spit it out into the garbage nearby, and rubbed the crumbs on her forest green dress before continuing to eat.

"I mean really, this is why you are my favorite cousin. All of the excitement. You just never know what you're going to do." She put up a finger to tell me to hold on while she swallowed before continuing. "Besides, you make me look _really_ good."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, Skylar, because the fact that I embarrassed my parents at a banquet and the fact that you stole a car really balance each other out in the real world."

Sky rolled her eyes at me. "Not just your parents. You embarrassed your family, Lex. And for the last time, it was not stolen. I told Fat JoJo that if he left the keys on the bar, I was going for a test drive. The fact that he didn't believe me is his fault, and his fault alone. Girls like me don't make empty threats."

Skylar Nicole Manson-Bryant really _wasn't_ the type of girl to make empty threats. Skylar's my cousin on my mother's side, hence the 'Manson'. To describe Skylar, you just need to know my aunt Ashley. Aunt Ashley and Skylar are like clones. They even look exactly alike.

I mean seriously, there isn't any visible indication besides her hair color that there is any part of my Uncle Dean in my cousin, except for the fact that she burps like a man, which I seriously believe is yet another thing inherited by my aunt. Sky and my aunt have the same exact eyes. They also share the same personality…except for the fact that Skylar is a bit of a…wild child.

She 'borrowed' a Porsche, need I say more?

Skylar's only sibling is her older sister, Sarai Lucinda Manson-Bryant. Yes, if you cannot tell by now, my aunt is off her rocker. Skylar was _this_ close to being named Skylark, but her dad drew the line.

My aunt Ashley incidentally is an artist. She somehow got my grandfather (Grandpa Manson) to buy her this ritzy art studio downtown. My uncle Dean is a nightclub owner, which explains why Skylar can dance like nobody's business. …Yet, her drawing sucks. The one thing she didn't get from my aunt, besides hair color. Skylar is usually a pretty easygoing person, but as of late, her parents have been fighting…probably because of her dad's not-so-secret girlfriend. We need not even get into that long story.

"Where's Leslie?" I yawned, suddenly yearning for a sane family member.

Skylar looked around for a moment before nodding her head behind me. I turned to see Aunt Jazz, Uncle Dash, Ethan, and lastly, Leslie. She looked bored as her parents chatted with some old man who looked within an inch of his life.

My other cousin seemed to have noticed me at the same time because she politely excused herself and then bolted toward us, careful not to trip over her golden yellow dress. Her red hair was pinned back into a bun.

"Way to tarnish the family name, Lex." Was the first thing she said to me.

Ah. Gotta love the family support here.

"Again, Skylar stole a car." I repeated to deaf ears.

Leslie sighed. "The president of the United States didn't witness Sky steal a car, he did however, witness you threaten bodily harm upon your sister. Seeing the difference?"

Les was just like my aunt, always right.

Leslie Amanda Madeline Baxter was born to Jazmine and Dashton Baxter. Yes. You read right. My cousin's initials are L.A.M.B. Yes. As in Mary had a little… Apparently, her grandmother's middle name on her father's side is 'Amanda' and our grandma on my dad and her mom's side's first name is 'Madeline', so Leslie Baxter became 'L.A.M.B.', since 'Leslie Sophia Madeline Baxter' and 'Leslie Amanda Colette Baxter' didn't sound right…according to Aunt Jazz, whom I also believe to be off her rocker.

Leslie is too smart for her own good. Seriously. When we were four, she made me cry because I didn't know what a 'melodramatic' was or why she was calling me one. Leslie can be a total know-it-all, but not in the sort of way that I want to throttle her—okay, well not all the time. My aunt is a psychiatrist, so naturally Les wants to follow in her mother's footsteps.

I love my cousin to death, but if she tries to psychoanalyze me again by what color socks I choose to wear on a Tuesday while it's raining, there will be blood. My uncle used to be quarterback, but is now football coach for the Amity Specters. My older cousin, who is Les' older brother, Ethan, isn't a total sports fanatic like his dad, like one might think. He's actually got a band called 'The ConMan's Plan' or 'CMP'. Leslie doesn't say too much about football, but she can throw a pretty mean spiral…and a not so bad retort.

"Alright, fine. You win. I have brought shame and dishonor to our family." I sighed in defeat.

"Eh. Skylar stole a car." Leslie yawned. Sky glowered.

Leslie and Skylar weren't related directly, but they were both my cousins, which in a way, I suppose could make them distant cousins. Out of all of us, we were the only ones related. Speaking of all of us, we were missing a few.

"Where's your mom?" I asked Skylar, meanwhile scanning the crowd for a certain head of brown hair.

"She left shortly before your defacing of our family. Kidding. Just kidding. She's around here somewhere. Oh, by the way, Grandma's here—or was. She left right _after _your defacing of our family name. Funny, huh?" Skylar threw her plate into the garbage.

"Hilarious." I blanched, finding the girl I was looking for. Just as I went to go nab her, an excited looking blonde woman approached.

"Hi, Miss Fenton, my name is Stephanie Snow, and I'm with the teen magazine, Glitterati! We absolutely _love_ you and your siblings and I was wondering if maybe you'd allow a quickie interview? It'll be real fast, hon. I swear it." Her long ringlet curls bobbled up and down as she spoke emphatically.

I stared in confusion before nodding with a shrug. These were the types of things that I preferred to get over with as fast as possible if they were unavoidable, just as this seemed to be.

"Great! Joaquin! Roll the camera!" she barked.

I watched in awed horror as 'Stephanie Snow' turned into a completely different and if possible, creepier version of herself.

"Hey guys! It's S.S. again with your favorite superhero offspring, Alexis Fenton. Now, earlier tonight during her father's speech, Miss. Fenton made a quite loud outburst of enraged fury directed toward none other than one, Lindsay Fenton. That's right, you know her and you love her, Lindsay was our 2020 fashion icon because there wasn't and still isn't another girl who can rock a cheetah print like that one!"

My natural defense was to flee from this fast-talking terrifying Lindsay lover. I wanted to run as fast as I could and hide under something big and strong…like Dowager Elise's giant body. If that woman could tuck me in like she could tuck a plate of lemon squares, I'd be far beyond safe.

"So now anyway," I tuned back into Stephanie as I realized that this was in fact on film. "We're here now with Alexis, who by the way, looks fabtastic in this totally 'lish sapphire dress, obviously designed by EmKat. Shout-out to the great Emily McKinley, right there. Now Alexis, how's this night for you? How are you feeling knowing that your parents are a great part of history?"

I put on my 'camera' smile, otherwise known as the 'fakest-of-the-fake' smile, and was careful to show teeth…but not _too_ many teeth. I hated this. I also hated the fact that she just said 'fabtastic'.

"I'm totally honored for all the recognition that I get through my parents. I think that they are two of the greatest people I've ever known, even though, obviously my opinion is a bit biased."

Stephanie nodded. "So you're a camera loving parental suck-up? I see. And what about your little outburst tonight?"

"Wh-wh…I am _not_ a suck-up, lady! And I do not love cameras!"

Stephanie only gave a look to the camera…or maybe it was Joaquin…who the hell knows?!

"Another outburst. Mm-hmmm. And I noticed that you've carefully dodged the issue of your sister. Is it or is it not true that you are feuding with your sister?" Stephanie inquired.

"We're not _feuding_. We fight…a lot…but it's not a feud!" I defended.

"Mm-hmmm." Stephanie looked as if she were calculating something in that scary head of hers. "So are you saying that it is untrue that the two of you are fighting over the Saudi Arabian prince, Rashid Baja's cousin's best friend's sister's brother, who is only identifiable as 'J'?"

I stared at her in total confusion. "Wh...I…I don't…huh?" I sputtered. "I…don't know any people with names under one syllable."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed. "Mm-hmmm."

That was starting to get really annoying REALLY fast.

Just as I was about to begin wondering if this was ever going to end, I heard a cool and familiar voice question, "Isn't it a bit unorthodox and just a tad bit illegal to do this type of interview without parental consent? She is a minor, you know."

Stephanie and I turned to my current savior, who also happened to not only be one of my best friends, but to be the best friend that I had just spotted before Psycho Steph nabbed me. Her choppy dark brown hair swept over her deep brown eyes as a scowl covered her features. It was a scowl that I had grown accustomed to, because it graced her face quite often. She wasn't exactly a person to be trifled with, and I could not wait for Miss. Stephanie Snow to experience this well-known fact firsthand.

"Camera off, Joaquin. And you are?" Snow questioned, looking her and her coal gray dress up and down imploringly.

Her scowl stayed unmoved as she answered, "Anya Hartfield. I think my mother sold you your condo."

Anya is usually loud and outspoken. She's also incredibly adventurous. Because of her adventurousness is also very athletic. She's broken about twelve different parts of her arm in less than ten years, and in total, has broken about thirty-two parts of her body.

Yet, in spite of all of this, she can still be seen scaling rocks, and leaping off of trees taller than the house my grandparents on my mother's side own. Anya got her name from some television show character of off of some vampire show. Yes, our mothers were so unimaginative that they turned on the TV and flipped for baby names.

Both of her parents work in real estate, so for them to have a wild and crazy daughter is the equality of a family of bunnies having a wolf for a daughter. The worst thing that Anya ever did was crash a moped into my grandmother's greenhouse. Grandma Manson always looks at her with a chary glance now. I think it's funny.

Stephanie's eyes lit up in recognition. "Of course, Britannica and Shawn's daughter. I should have put it together, seeing as it _is_ well known that Britannica and Samantha are great friends. I'm friends of theirs too, you know." She turned to me as she said this.

I knew this to be completely fictional even though I'd never met this woman before now. For one thing, if she were a friend of my mother, she definitely wouldn't have called her 'Samantha' and Aunt Annica 'Britannica'. Another thing, my mother would not befriend some freak who said 'fabtastic'. And no, I was not going to let that go anytime soon.

Anya rolled her eyes, probably thinking the same thing that I was. Stephanie though, wasn't paying attention to our facial expressions. She seemed more interested in someone behind us. I turned around to see that it wasn't 'someone' it was seven 'someones'.

"Of course, I expected it but I'm still so shocked to actually take witness to it! I mean, it's a well known fact, but…well…this is just so incredible!" Stephanie Snow gushed excitedly.

I looked at the same thing that she was looking at, but I didn't feel any excitement whatsoever. One glance at Anya proved that she was unsurprisingly less than enthused. Standing before us, were seven women that I'd known all of my life.

My mother, Aunt Raven, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Emma, Aunt Jazz, Aunt Roxie, and Aunt Annica stood chatting and laughing to themselves as three people who I was rather glad to see, stood there boredly.

They all looked as gorgeous as always, and I knew that it never really took any effort on their parts. My mother's long ebony colored hair hung over her shoulders as her amethyst eyes that I called my own sparkled with laughter. Her floor length deep burgundy colored dress hugged curves that I secretly prayed to inherit one day, and as always, she wore open-toed black stilettos.

She caught my eye and winked at me before turning back to Aunt Raven who was whispering something that sent them into a fit of laughter.

I turned from them to the three girls to see them all looking at me expectantly. I then realized that they were looking at Stephanie. Ugh, she was still there.

"Hey, Miss Snow. I've got an idea…why don't you go interview my mom?" The magic words were spoken, and off ran Stephanie Snow, Joaquin, and my forgotten 'Glitterati!' interview.

"Who the hell are you?" I heard Aunt Roxie blanch. I snickered to myself as two of my three friends walked over.

The first to reach me was my favorite blonde, Bridget-Victoria McKinley. As the daughter of a famous fashion designer, and a video game designer, B.V. was what you would expect and more—a girly fashionista who could totally own you in Total Brain Splatter IV (a fact that she still has yet to allow me to forget). A perfect example of this was the fact that she was currently advancing toward me in a red mini dress, silver heels, and was rolling her eyes at a nearby conversation between two guys that obviously involved video games.

She grinned at me, her bright blue eyes shining mischievously. "So…that Stephanie Snow lady was just asking your mother if she planned to disown you for that quote-unquote 'rebellious display'. Worried?"

I rolled my eyes at her _and_ Stephanie Snow and turned to the other two.

Jolene laughed at B.V.'s comment and chimed in telling me, "I'd help you pack in a heartbeat, Lex."

"Ha…ha." I commented dryly.

Jolene had long brown hair, brown eyes, and was currently in a brown dress. The funniest thing about all of this was that she detested the color brown. The even funnier part was that her skin color could be considered brown, too. Jolene's mother, and my aunt, Raven obviously chose to ignore her hatred when she threw her in the dress.

Although Aunt Raven was a music producer, Jolene happened to be inclined to what she referred to as "a more artistic approach to the world". Our best friend could be found chilling out in total isolation sketching something or another.

"Okay, will someone please go rescue Leanna? I can't bear to watch her pained expression anymore." Anya drawled. I turned to see what my friend meant, only stifle a snicker.

There stood Leanna Foley in a bronze colored dress and matching shoes, trying her best to avoid the burning questions being fired at her from a group of antsy teenage boys. But no, these were not just _any_ teenage boys. These were impatient _nerdy_ teenage boys. What were they impatient for? Information.

"So when are your parents going to reveal '2.0'?"

"I've been waiting for your father's newsletter online for almost three weeks! When is the next one up?"

"Wait, so if your parents ever divorce, who does _FolCo_ go to?"

"Better yet, if they die you are the sole heir to the _FolCo_ fortune, are you not?"

"Marry me!"

Leslie laughed from behind me as our curly haired friend blinked in horror. Leanna looked over to Aunt Roxie, then to Uncle Tucker, but both of her parents were preoccupied and didn't notice her silent cries of distress. She finally looked over at us and her brown eyes pleaded, 'Help Me!'.

"Please, save the poor girl's soul already." Leslie smiled, bemused.

B.V. raised a hand and volunteered herself to save our friend from the lion's den. We all watched in amusement as we knew what was coming next. Bridget-Victoria strutted over to them, or rather _sauntered_, and flicked her blonde hair out of her face smoothly. Though we could not see her, from experience we knew that she had to be batting those blue eyes of hers by the way that every nearby warm-blooded male stopped to gaze. From far behind, I noticed Ryan look up and raise an eyebrow at B.V., and then at me.

The brown-haired freckled boy who'd just proposed to Leanna just as quickly rescinded it.

"Marry me…" he repeated in a windswept tone.

"Sorry. I'm taken." B.V. replied in the cool tone that she reserved for moments like these.

"By me." I looked next to her in surprise as Uncle Charlie stood next to his daughter, casting the guys a not-so-happy look. Next to him stood my father, Uncle Tucker, and Uncle Dash.

Uncle Dash glared menacingly at a blonde boy nearby who'd been stupid enough to give Leslie the 'wink-and-nod'. Put into his place quickly, the cute blonde scampered off just as the geeks were beginning to (but not before gazing at Uncle Tucker in awe. One of them had actually been bold enough to request an autograph while the rest of them took to indiscreetly taking pictures of him).

Turning to B.V. and then to us, Uncle Charlie cleared his throat before remarking, "I don't even want to know."

Trying to keep our smirking to a dull minimum we stood there as our fathers spoke to each other briefly about something that they must've been discussing beforehand.

"Alright kiddo," Dad looked at his watch. "Your mom's ready to go and the girls' stuff was already dropped off at the house."

I nodded and looked at my six friends as they gathered their bearings and said their farewells to their parents. My father and I walked away from them and headed toward the car.

"Hey Dad," I looked at him meekly. "Are you mad at me?"

He stopped in his long stride to smile at me and ruffle my hair a little. "Of course not, Lex." He put his arm around me as we continued on and I leaned into him as he towered over me.

"Your mother on the other hand, wanted to kill you both." I could hear the laughter in his voice as we approached the exit. There, standing tiredly was my mother, giving me _the look_. What happened?! She'd just winked at me before!

"_-cough-_ADOPTION_-cough-"_ Ryan coughed into his hand and gave me a side-glance.

I 'stealthily' made a certain hand gesture that did not go unnoticed by my mother, though she said nothing and just sighed and muttered something to herself. Her tired expression was beginning to wear off on me, and before I knew it, I was yawning.

Glancing behind me, I saw Leslie, B.V., Leanna, Anya, Jolene, and Skylar heading toward the exit too. They were going to be dropped off at my house to sleep over, just like they did every Sunday night. Monday night was always at Leanna's, Tuesday was at Leslie's, Wednesday was at Anya's, Thursday was at Jolene's house, Friday was at Skylar's house, and Saturdays were at B.V.'s.

I got into the car, and as usual was wedged between Lindsay and Ryan. On my left Lindsay texted like mad, and on my right Ryan looked out of the window boredly. Mom snapped her seatbelt into place as Dad started the car.

Fifteen minutes into the drive home, I felt myself get sleepy as I leaned on Ryan. He shifted, but didn't push me off him, probably too tired to exert the necessary energy. I realized that I was right when I heard a soft snore next to me. I glanced over at Lindsay to see that she had conked out sometime before.

I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come as the sound of the road beneath the car lulled. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard the soft whispering of my parents.

_"I know that's not what you're really upset about. You can hide it from the kids, but not me. Talk to me, Sam."_

_"He's _here_."_ My mother whispered painfully.

_"We don't know that."_ Dad's voice got stern.

_"And we don't know that he isn't."_

_"…"_

_"I want to be certain before I feel comfortable basically throwing our children to the dogs."_

_"Sam…"_

_"Danny…if Vlad is back in Amity Park, I want to know."_

_"We're not going to argue about this Sam."_

_"There should be **nothing** to argue about, Daniel!"_

_"…" _

The only sound my father made was the steady drumming of his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove. I heard movement in the passenger seat, and it was almost as if I could feel her eyes on me.

_"Those are my babies, Danny."_

Dad gave a deep sigh as the car stopped briefly, for what I guessed was a traffic light.

_"They're mine too, Sam. And you already know that my **first** priority is to protect both them and you. I need you to trust me when I say that if Vlad is indeed back in Amity, that it is best to leave him be until we're given reason not to."_

_"And if it's too late?"_

Dad's response was automatic. _"It's never too late."_

_"And_ **if it's too late**_?"_ Mom repeated.

Dad was silent for a moment before answering,

_"I don't know yet, Sammy. I don't _know_."_

I tried to stay awake to hear the rest of what they were saying, but all I caught was an exchange of 'I Love You's. I knew I should have fought the sleep I was entering, and I knew that my piqued interest should have caused me to interrupt them and demand an explanation, but I was too tired, and too late as I joined my sleeping siblings in the back of the car.

* * *

There it is! I threw in a glimpse of the original girls, and yes, for those who were a little antsy about not seeing them throughout the fic, I promise that they will not disappear.


	3. Living A Life Of The Unexpected

Okay guys, important note here. By the time that Chapter 4 comes out, my penname is changing to 'KeyBella23'. I've hated my penname for _quite_ awhile now, probably because it was something that I made when I was eleven, sneaking on here to write fanfics, haha. So instead of seeing '**DivaGurl277**' you will now see '**KeyBella23**'.

Also, the website will be put up for release to you all on Saturday, February 7th, 2009. It's actually all set to go, it just has a few cosmetic changes to go through!

Here's the third chapter, enjoy!

Keyarrah

* * *

I awoke the next morning to feet in the vicinity of my face.

I opened my eyes to see Skylar sprawled out wildly on my bedroom floor, apparently subconsciously trying to give me a taste of her toes. I shoved her feet out of my face disgustedly, since it is a well-known fact that my cousin has been known to go without socks…**always**, even when wearing boots. I sat up with a big, somewhat exaggerated yawn.

"Happy Monday," a tired voice grumbled somewhere nearby.

I was unsure of whether it was Leanna or Anya since they both had the same early morning croak in their voices. I blinked until I found myself getting adjusted to the very familiar surroundings I was currently in.

As per the Monday morning tradition, I woke up on my bedroom floor with five sleeping people, and one, whom I still had yet to identify, that was awake. As I opened my eyes fully, the first thing I was met with was a deep violet colored wall with black crown moldings. Near the door was what could be described as a miniature-clothing mountain, made up of mostly my laundry (dirty, clean, and stuff in between), the girls' suitcases, hygienic products, and the other crap they usually brought into my room every Sunday night.

I shook my head at the mess. My messes (which there were quite a few of) didn't bother me much, if at all. It was just when other people's mess was on top of my mess that I got a little…twitchy.

In my wretchedly tired state, I turned left to see Leanna sitting up and stretching up so far that her pajama top rode up above her belly button. Her hair was messy, and I snickered at the giant tuft of brown that was currently sitting on her head. Hearing my laughter, she looked confused for a moment before she slowly brought a hand up to her head. She groaned as her fingers tangled themselves in the mass of curls. She was a sight to see with messy hair and ice-cream cone pajamas.

"It isn't," I yawned, "that bad. Besides, I guarantee you that Leslie's will look worse."

I was swiftly kicked by said redhead who turned over to glare at me stating, "I'm not asleep, you know."

I rolled my eyes at Leslie and tried my best to get up without tripping over Skylar, who wasted no time even in a deep slumber and immediately replaced her feet where my face had been not too long ago, B.V., or Anya who didn't look like they'd be getting up anytime soon.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I whispered, escaping the Leslie and Skylar sandwich I'd just been in.

Leanna nodded and Leslie rolled back over, probably about to go back to sleep. One quick glance at my friends, and I carefully tiptoed towards the door. It was cracked, so it didn't make as much noise as I widened it to make my get away.

As my bare feet dragged across the carpet, I almost made it to the bathroom when I heard a muffled, "Damnit!"

My heart sped up a little faster when I recognized his voice.

First off, let me point out that I am definitely not the fawning type, okay? Yes, while my intimate group of friends is made up of six girls whom I happen to share a lifelong connection with, no, I do not sit around giggling and curtsying and whatever else fawning girls do. You see how different I am from a fawning girl? I don't even know what they _do_, that's how different I am.

So while that has been made clear, I feel totally unashamed in the way that my heart started to literally skip beats, and how I let out a shaky breath that I didn't even know I was holding.

I suddenly didn't have to pee anymore _for **some** reason_, and my new destination was chosen. I smoothed down my hair a little and calmly (or at least it was supposed to be) walked down the stairs to see the one and the only, Christopher Caulder peering intently into our refrigerator.

Standing there slumped against the door with his light brown hair looking as moppy and disheveled as ever, he stood there in a plain white t-shirt, royal blue plaid boxer shorts, and white tube socks.

My heartbeat seemed to finally regain its senses and a little too much of its stride as it increased rapidly.

Obviously, if you haven't guessed by now, I have a bit of a crush on Chris Caulder. No, crush isn't the right word. I don't 'crush'. I think that what I feel is more of…an excruciating 'like'. Yes, I like him so much that I am in pain…but it's all in my head, of course, like that's normal.

Apparently, as I stood there in a self-debate the object of my affection/affliction thought it would be a good idea to turn around. Now here I am, standing face to face with the brown eyes, brunette mop hair, appealing grin, and artistic personality that made up Chris.

"Alexis," he grinned at me. "Just the girl I was hoping to see. Okay, that's kind of a lie. You're the second girl I was hoping to see. I was actually looking for your mom to come downstairs."

I was about to question why when I was interrupted by the loud grumbling that is the notorious stomach of the teenage boy. I laughed.

"Please tell me you know your way around a kitchen, Lex, 'cause I am completely clueless and completely starving." He told me sheepishly.

Laughing again, I gently moved him out of the way before opening the fridge back. Pushing aside Mom's veggie stuff, and sifting through the cans upon cans of Lindsay's liquid diet crap, I found the bacon stashed way in the back. I tossed the package to Chris, who caught it sloppily, taken off guard.

I grabbed the eggs out of the door and placed them on the counter, but not before grabbing the bacon back from Chris.

As I got the frying pan out, I let my girly side out and let myself daydream about the future. I could honestly see myself doing this well into the years of our marriage. I could see him as he was now: completely adorable and utterly useless in the kitchen. I would feed him, because that is truly the way to a man's heart and he would whisk me up and kiss me senseless.

Blinking back from 'Girly-Gaga-Land' I felt myself grimace as I thought of the one thing that stood in our way. The one thing that could not be moved. The one thing that no matter how hard I tried it just wouldn't—

"I hope you know the number to Poison Control," Ryan drawled as he hopped down the stairs, shirtless as usual. "Because you're going to need it if you plan on eating the massacre Alexis is about to prepare."

Did I mention that Chris is my brother's best friend? …'Cause he kind of is.

"I hope you also know the number for the paramedics." I countered as I cracked an egg in the pan and put the bacon into the one already sitting atop the other burner. I turned them both on and thought evil things about Loserboy, a.k.a. Ryan the Insufferable.

Ryan smirked at me, sitting down and propping his feet on the chair next in front of him. "In case Poison Control doesn't make it in time to save our stomachs?"

"No, in case Mom and Dad don't make it in time to save your face." I threw the eggshell at him with a scowl.

Chris' laughter was heard from not too far away, because for some reason he thought that our 'sibling interactions' were funny. The poor boy had no siblings, so he'd never know that we didn't have 'interactions'. We had roof-shaking battles and 'total war' inspired fights.

"So much for 'just going to pee'." Leslie shuffled into the kitchen in blue spotted slippers, a blue t-shirt and gray track pants.

She nodded at Chris and pushed Ryan's legs off the chair that she'd chosen to sit on before her head hit the table with a 'thonk'.

"Ow…" my redheaded cousin murmured.

"That's safe." The airy voice of B.V. rang, as she waltzed down the last few steps. B.V. usually wore shorts and a tank top to bed, and last night was no exception. She also has a stupid crush on Loserboy that isn't even worth going into detail about.

To give B.V. credit though, she's actually pretty discreet about it. B.V. definitely isn't the type to be caught out there, so it was of no surprise to me that she coolly nodded at him and sat down next to Leslie.

"Are you talking about Leslie's concussion or the fact that Alexis is near the stove?" Ryan asked with his eyes alight with humor.

"Uhm, both of those and the fact that the bacon's burning." B.V. said, more to me than to him.

I turned quickly to see that the bacon was indeed charbroiling. Cajun style, anyone? …Anyone?

"…is it too late to wake up your mom?" Chris wondered as his stomach growled again.

I threw the sizzling pan into the sink and went to go pee.

* * *

­After the girls eventually all got up and we ate breakfast (which yes, Mom cooked) they hung out for awhile before they began to go home. In the end it was about noon when it was only Jolene and myself left.

We'd long since showered and dressed, and we now looked more like fifteen-year-old girls than rumpled monkeys. Jolene's hair was put up into a high ponytail while mine was just messily clipped back with a barrette I stole from Mom.

With nothing left to do until Aunt Raven or Uncle Mark came to pick her up, we went into the family room and turned on Brain Splatter IV.

"So, you excited about school?" Jolene questioned, brushing her bangs out of her face as she stared hard at the television.

I shrugged, and then remembered that she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not ecstatic or anything. It's just **school**."

I made a face. Just the thought of my summer coming to an end put a bitter taste in my mouth. The end of the July was already here and I was not pleased about it at all. The only reason to look forward to summer ending would be winter, which was far off. Winter in Amity is amazing because it's the only place in California where it snows.

Aunt Jazz says it's because of the spectral action and the fact that the ghosts lower the temperature more so at a certain time. Aunt Emma says our town just has freaky winters, but Aunt Jazz said the yearly temperature drop is just a coincidence and that it could have just as easily occurred in August. Alexis doesn't really care. She just thinks the snow is amazing.

Jolene laughed slightly and then did something weird with the controller. I tried to imitate her and succeeded in doing what her character had just done. For two girls who knew nothing about zombie killing we rocked hardcore.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. Haven't you always wanted to see the setting?"

I snorted and pressed 'X' repeatedly. "The setting of what, school? Ooh, books, teachers, social cliques. Fun."

Jolene shook her head out of the ponytail and thwapped me with her long hair. "No, the setting of the stories, dummy. Haven't you always wondered what it'd be like to walk down the hallways and be in the dorms our moms were in? To relive the stories?"

"No." I answered without hesitation. "I've been there a bunch of times for stuff involving Loserboy and Lindsella DeVil. I've seen the setting. It's old, and it's big, and it's a school."

We both jumped and cried out as a shrieking roar was emitted from the rogue Zombie Queen that appeared out of thin air.

"Way to rain on my parade, Lexie." She deadpanned mockingly, after our hearts were done racing.

I let out a whoop as we defeated the queen. "Oh, please. If anything I'm protecting you and your artistic virtue."

Jolene paused the game and turned to me questionably. "'Artistic virtue'?" She repeated. I nodded.

"Yes. You don't want to go to that school. It's yucky, and stuffy, and boring. It's not you." I explained.

"Maybe I have multiple personalities. It might be one of me!" Jolene argued. I rolled my eyes and unpaused the game only to blink in surprise as Jolene's character fell to the ground as a zombie drone killed her character.

Jolene definitely did not have multiple personalities. If anyone had multiple personalities it was me…or maybe Skylar. For some reason, I feel more comfortable pinning that on Skylar. Maybe that's one of my multiple personalities. Yes, I have a selfish, blaming personality.

I'll call her Lorraine, just because in first grade there was this brunette girl who cut off one of her pigtails and said I did it because she wanted my Fluff Cake and I wouldn't fork it over. …Stupid Fluff Cake loving skank. I got in trouble for that!

"Did I lose?" she questioned.

"Well…you have no head, so probably." I remarked, ending the game while thinking evil things about Lorraine Malevich.

"Hm," Jolene said thoughtfully. "So _this_ is what teenage boys are doing instead of watching television? Seems like a lateral move."

"Teenage boys and Bridget-Victoria." I corrected.

Jolene and I sat down on one of our dark olive colored sofas. The family room was probably one of my favorite rooms in the whole house. My parents, or rather my mother, decorated the room to seem homey. The walls were a creamy tan color and the carpet was a deep olive color. The couches were darker than the carpet though, and they were hands down the most comfortable couches in the universe.

The flat-screen, which was held in a dark wood cabinet, was moderately sized, but sort of large compared to standard TVs, and under that sat a projector, every type of movie player you could imagine. In the final shelf sat about two hundred movies all on microscopic disks. The disks were really expensive, but we got them for free. Just a minor perquisite of being the best friends and godchildren of the creators of FolCo, I guess.

The entertainment system wasn't really the main attraction of the room though; the décor was what really brought people in. The walls were decorated with art pieces made by Aunt Ashley and a couple of virtually unknown artists. Two abstract lamps sat nearest to the glass patio door leading to the pool, and the coffee table that matched the television cabinet was engraved with intricate designs on the sides and the legs of it. The best part about this room was that it actually looked lived in.

Lindsay's fashion magazine's littered the floor nearest Jolene, Ryan's track sneakers sat near the sliding door, and besides myself being in this room, I was pretty sure that my belongings were strewn in this room somewhere.

My parents could easily afford million dollar art to decorate the walls, and we could even have a freaking fountain near the key rack, but they both felt better about having the family room literally seem like a family room, and not 'a damn museum' as Mom would say in her heated debates with Grandma Manson on the subject.

"Why are you so amped for school anyway?" I asked, referring back to our latter topic.

"It's high school. Regardless of the fact that it's a boarding school, we're still going to be freshmen, whichever way you look at it. It's like…a glimpse of normal life." Jolene persuaded.

I wasn't buying it. I gave her a pointed look and grabbed the remote to flick on the national news channel to show her what I knew would be on. There was my dad, making his speech last night, and three different journalists from three different countries commenting on it in side panels surrounding the view of him and the podium.

"I'll never have a normal life." I corrected.

I suddenly remembered something from last night. "Hey Jo,"

She didn't bother to look over from the television. From the journalists' words, Dad had just begun speaking and they were liking what he said so far. "Mm?"

"Who's Vlad?" I wondered, repeating the name I'd heard my parents fret over in the car.

"Vlad who?" she asked, looking at me.

"That's what I'm asking you. Apparently someone named Vlad is in Amity, and my parents are really freaked out about it." I explained.

Jolene looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Maybe it's a political thing." I shook my head as I recalled Mom's words last night. My mother had even gone as far as to call Dad 'Daniel' to prove her point.

"No. My mom clearly stated that my, Lindsay and Ryan's lives were in some kind of danger, and Dad seemed afraid. You think it's some kind of ghost?" I wondered more to myself than to Jolene.

Jolene laughed. "Your dad? Afraid of a ghost? Not plausible, Lexie. Besides, what ghost would be dumb enough to come after _your_ family?"

I gave a small laugh as I thought about what she was saying. "Yeah, true."

Both of our heads turned as the doorbell rang. I got up lazily, and stretched as I made my way to answer it. I got to the door when I noticed a tall shadowy figure through the glass pane.

"Who is it, Lex?" Dad asked from behind me. I shrugged.

I opened the door and there stood a tall, slender Latina woman in a blue sundress and heels.

"Danny!" she cried ecstatically, shoving past me to hug my father.

"Honey, who is i—" Mom stood on the bottom of the steps just gaping for a moment before she got this look on her face…a scary look.

I've known my mother all my life, obviously, and never have I seen that look before. I was positive that if Mom had powers, her eyes would be glowing furiously. And then she said the one name I'd only heard in stories.

"Paulina."

* * *

I know, it's like a game of 'Guess who's coming for dinner!'. Haha, never know who's going to pop up next. Poor Alexis has no clue about anything. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


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